Your weekly news roundup

The weekly roundup will consist of five big stories and give you the short run down in case you haven’t been able to keep up with everything going on. There will be a mix of topics but we’ll try to keep it extremely informative.

Massachusetts is approving a law to protect access to birth control

Unfortunately, a woman’s access to birth control has been a hot topic. President Trump’s administration rolled back the birth control mandate in September. This means that hundreds of thousands of women lost their access because co-pays would skyrocket. However, Massachusetts is making sure women in their state won’t go through that. Governor Charlie Baker, who is a Republican, signed the bill into law in late November. The law requires state insurers to cover birth control without copays, and it allows women to obtain up to a year’s supply at once. This means that if you’re a woman in Massachusetts you won’t have to worry about making those monthly trips to the pharmacy, which can be a pain.

A little glitter makes the world go around and sparkle, right? Well yes but apparently glitter isn’t that great after all.

Scientists say that all that wonderful glitter isn’t great for the environment or us at all. This is because that glitter lotion, shower gel, body sprays, and eyeshadow get washed down the drain after a long day and they can potentially enter into the environment, which isn’t good. So as much as we love glitter, the environment doesn’t and scientists believe that all glitter needs to be banned. Sorry ladies that love to sparkle.

A woman in the US gave birth after a uterus transplant

This incredible birth took place at Baylor University Medical Center, in Dallas. There’s been eight successful births after uterus transplants in Sweden. This is beyond amazing as many women wish to have children and can’t. Doctor’s hope this will lead to many more successful birth stories.

Senate Republicans passed tax bill

Early Saturday, Republicans pushed an almost $1.5 trillion tax bill through. Republicans are saying the package would benefit people of all incomes and help to ignite the economy. The Joint Taxation panel concluded the bill would worsen federal shortfalls by $1 trillion over a decade, even when factoring in economic growth that lower taxes would stimulate. With this bill, people would be allowed to deduct up to $10,000 in property taxes. This bill will also abolish the Obamacare requirement that most people buy health coverage or face tax penalties and drilling would be allowed in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Another provision, knocked out because it violated Senate budget rules, would have explicitly let parents buy tax-advantaged 529 college savings accounts for fetuses, a step they can already take but which anti-abortion forces wanted to inscribe into law. There were also breaks for the wine, beer and spirits industries, Alaska Natives and aircraft management firms.

SNL’s “Welcome to Hell” skit

ON SNL last Saturday, Cecily Strong, Kate McKinnon, Aidy Bryant, and host Saoirse Ronan decided to remind us that all these sexual misconduct allegations are nothing new – despite how shocking they may be. “All of these big, cool, powerful guys are turning out to be, what’s the word, habitual predators,” Aidy Bryant says. “And it’s like, dang, is this the world now?” Although the video has a whimsical Katy Perry candy land look to it, they don’t sugarcoat anything. Women have been dealing with sexual misconduct forever but now it’s really all unraveling in every field. Leslie Jones also steps in to remind everyone “it’s like a million times worse for a woman of color.” Viewers applauded the women and took to social media to respond. If you’re interested, you can check the video out below